Shadow banking risk exposure and green new quality productivity forces resilience: Pathways to development for Chinese firms

Abstract

This study investigates how shadow banking risk exposure influences Chinese listed firms' green new quality productivity forces resilience (GNQPFR), emphasizing regional, ownership, and life cycle stage heterogeneity. Our findings demonstrate the positive impact of shadow banking risk exposure on GNQPFR, with significant regional variations. The western region benefited more from shadow banking during extreme periods due to underdeveloped financial markets, while in nonextreme periods, the central region exhibited stronger effects, reflecting its transitional financial environment. Enterprise ownership also impacts this relationship, revealing that shadow banking risk exposure has a more pronounced positive effect on the GNQPFR of local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) compared with non-SOEs during extreme periods. Firms in the decline phase leverage shadow banking more effectively under extreme conditions than those in the Growth Phase, driven by heightened financial pressures and resilience needs. Firm-level factors such as profitability, intangible assets, and age further moderate the effects, indicating the nuanced interplay between internal resources and external financing. Robustness tests controlling for financial crises, policy shifts, and the COVID-19 pandemic validate the findings. This study provides valuable insights into the influence of shadow banking on sustainable development and advancing the GNQPFR in transitioning economies.